“That was a very good tactic, my lady,” Sebastian told her. “Please do not do it again. I do not think my heart would survive it. The thought of you being injured by my hand would destroy me.”
“Okay. I won’t use it with you without giving you a head’s up,” Lexi conceded. “I will use it with others, though. It’s a good ploy.”
“It is a good ploy,” Sebastian agreed. “But know this, my lady, our enemies will not care that you are a woman or that you are injured. You will be eliminated without thought or concern. Do not hesitate. Take the kill. Protect yourself and those around you without hesitation. Do not show compassion for an enemy that does not understand the meaning of the word.”
Lexi nodded, knowing that Sebastian was being honest with her in his evaluation of the enemy. She had been trained from a very young age not to be afraid of what she had to do in order to keep everyone safe.
Although she sometimes felt guilt, she had been trained to understand and accept that evil knows no remorse. Evil kills without conscience. What she and her sisters did almost daily was to look evil in the face and defy it. All of them agreed that if they could save one person, any pain that they experienced would be worth it.
Now that Sebastian and his world of Altavesta were very real to them, their protection of them had been cemented. There was no way any of them would walk away from their destiny of helping these people.
“The next time you decide to use this ploy, I expect that you will tell me, Lexi,” Sebastian told her firmly, drawing her attention back to him.
“If I do that, it will defeat the purpose of the ploy,” Lexi protested. “I can’t tell you. The enemy will hear me.”
“Then we must think of another way for you to give me this information,” Sebastian told her firmly. He thought a moment then touched her chin to lift her face to look at him. “I want you to change the color of your eyes.”
Lexi laughed softly. “Good one, Sebastian,” she told him. “And just how am I supposed to do that?”
“Draw upon your magic. Concentrate on changing the violet color of your eyes to golden.”
“You’re serious?”
“Yes. Do it.”
“You’re a very bossy man, Sebastian,” she told him, crossing her arms across her chest and glaring up at him.
“Yes.”
“You know that you’re bossy, and you admit it?”
“Yes.”
Lexi looked up at the intense glare of determination in his eyes that he gave her without apology. She couldn’t help it. She started laughing.
Sebastian loved the sound of Lexi’s laughter. He also loved the way she was resting so comfortably upon his lap. Her ease with him astounded him. The heavens had truly given him the life mate who was meant for him. She was comfortable with him. She did not fear or defer to him. And she was sweet and loving. Perfect.
“Try to change your eye color, Lexi,” he told her, touching her cheek lightly with the back of his index finger. “I need to be able to see that you are not injured if you attempt to use that tactical ploy again.”
“I’ll try,” Lexi whispered, looking up at Sebastian and drawing strength from his concern for her.
She closed her eyes and centered herself, looking for the golden glow within her once again. She saw the wave of violet surrounding it and smiled. It made her realize that she was somehow embracing Sebastian. It was a really nice feeling.
She felt a burst of warmth flood her body. The golden glow now encircled the violet color. She smiled as she realized that Sebastian was now hugging her with his magic. Opening her eyes, she faced Sebastian and sighed at the depth of love that looked back at her.
“Did it work?”
“Yes.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Your eyes are golden.”
Lexi smiled and settled even deeper within Sebastian’s arms. “Okay, bossy man. You’ll be able to tell when I’m faking an injury from now on. Happy?”
Sebastian grinned. “Yes, Lexi. I am happy,” he told her, passing his hand down the length of her hair and following the contour of her shoulder and arm to hold her hand within his very gently. “I am especially glad that I can find peace in the fact that you will be able to protect yourself and our babies.”
Lexi looked up at him in silence. She would let the comment about their babies go for now. Her eyes narrowed as she watched his face. He had provoked her, the big jerk. He had pushed her until she fought back. He had wanted her to fight back. He had wanted her to use her strength against him.
A thought suddenly came to her. He did not think her less of a woman because of her strength. She had been gifted with a man who liked her just as she was. There was no better gift.
“Are you sure I didn’t hurt you?” she questioned, smiling despite her concern.
“I am uninjured,” he assured her. “Are you hurt in any way?” Despite the fact that he had no choice but to provoke her, he didn’t enjoy seeing her being repeatedly slammed down onto the ground.
“My backside is a little sore,” she admitted as she reached behind her body and touched her aching ass. “But there’s no permanent damage.”
She saw the way Sebastian’s eyes filled with need as he watched her rub her bruised flesh. Lexi’s breath caught in her throat as he carefully pulled her body toward his until she was straddling his hips. His hands caressed her buttocks gently, making her sigh softly. She couldn’t help but close her eyes and lean forward so that she was able to rest her cheek on his shoulder. His caresses never stopped.
“You can always kiss it and make it better,” she teased him, laughing softly when she heard the quick intake of his breath, followed by a low growl.
“Is this truly a method of healing on your world?” he asked her quietly, his words barely above a whisper.
Lexi laughed even harder, leaning back and reaching up to frame his face in her hands. “No, Sebastian,” she told him, knowing that she was confusing the hell out of him, and loving every moment of it. “It’s just something we tell children if they get a small cut or scrape. It distracts them and gives them love while we’re actually tending to their injury.”
Sebastian’s smile nearly melted her heart. He leaned in toward her and captured her lips gently, making her laughter quickly fade away and a soft sigh escape her.
“I will enjoy kissing you and making it better,” he whispered against her lips, licking at her lower lip before pulling it into his mouth and sucking on it gently.
Lexi gave herself to him, resting against his chest, exploring his mouth with her tongue, and appreciating his sounds of pleasure. She couldn’t believe the level of happiness she felt when he was with her. She enjoyed everything about him. She said a silent prayer of thanks that she had actually found someone so wonderful to love.
“Are we ever going to get back to your camp?” she whispered against his lips.
She could feel his smile and leaned back to look at him silently. The joy in his eyes was evident, as was the hunger and the need that he had for her. But it was the caring and the love she saw in his eyes and felt radiating from his soul that took her breath away.
“I would stay here with you for the rest of my life,” he told her quietly, kissing her lips lightly.
“But your men and your people need you, and my sisters and my niece need me,” she reminded him, her voice strong.
“ Our people,” he corrected her.
“ Our people,” she agreed, nodding.
“You are going to be a very good queen, Lexi,” he told her. “I am proud to have you stand beside me.”
“Let’s go, husband,” she told him, unsure how to respond to his declaration. She pushed from his lap and reached down to offer her hand to him. “We have a lifetime to play. Let’s go see to the safety of our people.”
Sebastian took her hand and stood with little effort. The pride and love he felt in his chest at his life mate’s honest acceptance of him and their destiny humbled him. She was an extrao
rdinary woman. His woman.
Mine .
Chapter 16
They both heard the commotion at the same time. Releasing Lexi’s hand, Sebastian started to run. Lexi was by his side, matching his long, powerful strides with her own. As they cleared the edge of the campsite, they both skidded to a halt. The camp was a flurry of movement. The fighting was loud and violent. Sebastian’s men fought side-by-side with Lexi’s sisters as they advanced on the small army of men who were invading their camp. Swords and pulse weapons were drawn and the clanging of metal against metal was constant, as was the hum of the discharging of the pulse weapons.
“They have come to our world,” Sebastian growled out as he ran toward the center of the camp.
“Who?” Lexi asked as she ran, doing her best to remain beside him to offer protection.
“The Gorin.”
“Hell,” Lexi whispered.
A flash of fear filled her in that instant. She pushed it aside angrily. There was no time to panic or give in to her fears. She had to remain focused and in control. So many lives were dependent upon her ability to fight these invaders.
Although she didn’t know all of Sebastian’s warriors, she recognized the clothing that they wore. Some wore leathers, some wore tartans of different colors, and some wore chain mail over their leathers. All of them looked like warriors of old who looked as if they belonged inhabiting the moors of Scotland on Earth. They were dashing figures who cut a romantic picture on the battlefield.
In stark contrast, the enemy soldiers were clothed in dark green garb that covered them from head to toe. Their faces were completely covered in the same dark green material that had only diamond openings cut into them for their eyes. It was the eyes that made Lexi shudder in horror. The eyes were unlike any that she had ever seen. They glowed green and were edged in red.
They looked like the demons from the horror stories that she had been told as a teenager. Her mother had told her those stories as they sat on the warm sand of the beach near their home. In those stories, only a direct hit in the eye by either a pulse weapon or a sword could kill the demon instantly. The head was the second target. A blow to the head would be equally effective, and easier to achieve, but resulted in a slower death. That slowness could mean the difference between a clean kill, or a wounded enemy who could attack before dying. Decapitation would provide an instant death.
She often asked her mother why she told her those stories as they relaxed on the beach. Elizabeth Gallagher had only smiled sadly and told her that Lexi needed to know that these beings were the embodiment of pure evil. Telling Lexi about them as they enjoyed the warmth and sunshine at the beach would help Lexi to accept what she needed to know without being afraid.
Her mother had told her that these men were not human. They fed on the lives and the souls of the people of the worlds that they conquered. They needed to be stopped at all cost.
Lexi finally understood her mother’s warning. It hadn’t been a story. It had been a vision that her mother had needed to share with her in order to help her and her sisters fulfill their destiny. Lexi was glad that she had shared that story with her sisters on their long journey to Altavesta. She hoped that her sisters remembered it now and had made the connection. It was going to save their lives and the lives of the warriors they were meant to protect.
Daria executed a perfect roundhouse attack as she swung her sword as she moved and decapitated two of the Gorin before striking a third by plunging her blade directly into its eye. Bree’s pulse weapon lit the area as she cut down two of the enemy with shots to the eyes of both of them in quick succession. The story had definitely been remembered.
Lexi saw that Bree had been protecting Torin who had been engaged in fighting with two other Gorin. Even in battle, Bree showed her protective streak. No one was going to die on Bree’s watch. She was equally skilled in both blade and pulse weapon. No one got by her. Ever.
Torin turned and threw a bolt of his magic at the Gorin who was coming up behind Bree. As the man in green staggered, Torin rushed forward and impaled the attacker with his sword straight through the skull. The Gorin struggled to remain standing, lashing out with his weapon and lunging toward Bree. Torin raised him up on the end of his sword, his shout of anger matching his strength as he brought the enemy down to the ground and shoved the sword deeper. In a matter of moments, the Gorin stopped moving.
Lexi knew that she didn’t need to help her sisters. They were well-trained and fierce in their abilities. Turning, she surveyed the camp, taking in the situation in order to evaluate where she was needed. It was then that she saw the five enemy warriors advancing on the camp from behind the tents. She didn’t hesitate. There was no way she was going to allow her family or Sebastian’s warriors to be caught unaware by the sneak attack.
Sebastian ran forward, throwing his magic at the Gorin that was about to attack Gaiya. He saw that their enemy was thrown backward, but he quickly regained his footing and advanced on her. Sebastian was not going to allow Lexi’s sister to be cut down.
He picked up the sword that lay amidst the stones surrounding the campfire, heedless of the blazing metal burning his hands. He raised the sword and charged headlong into the battle, stepping toward Gaiya to fight beside her against two of the enemy. Gaiya’s sword sliced through one of the men, decapitating him as Sebastian did the same to the one he faced. She turned her body to stand back-to-back with Sebastian as two more Gorin approached.
Sebastian saw Lexi’s sister Francie throw her arms out toward an oncoming group of their enemy. The small boulders that surrounded the campfire lifted effortlessly and were propelled toward the attacking enemy, effectively throwing them back to land with a resounding thud on the ground. The groans of pain that escaped the Gorin filled the area before they lay still on the dirt ground. Francie ran toward them with her swords raised. Plunging them into the eye sockets of each of the enemy, she pulled them free and did the same two more times until each of the Gorin that she had brought down with the rocks was dead.
Lexi vaulted over the flames of the campfire, tucking and rolling onto her shoulder. Her time training in the workout room of their home had been invaluable. She had been taught how to use her body efficiently and with every bit of strength within her without having to think about it. The Gorin were going down. She and her sisters were going to make sure of it.
She ending her forward movement with a somersault then bounded to her feet, reaching for another sword from beside the campfire as she righted herself. She swirled it with a quick rotation of her wrist and held it battle-ready, not hesitating as she quickly plunged it into the skull of an oncoming enemy warrior. Her heart raced as she fought, but she concentrated and focused on the Gorin that were quickly converging upon all of them while she tried to locate all of her siblings at the same time.
Her eyes darted to Sebastian’s men and mentally ticked off as many as she could remember, but there were too many to account for. Thankfully, the dark green material of the garb that the enemy warriors wore, allowed her to distinguish Sebastian’s warriors from the Gorin quickly.
Her mother’s words were strong in her head. Decapitation or a shot through the eye would stop them. Lexi was determined to do exactly that. These demons that Sebastian called the Gorin were not going to hurt her family or Sebastian’s, who now belonged to her, as well.
“Use your protection shield,” Sebastian yelled to her as he cut down another advancing Gorin.
“There are too many of them!” Lexi yelled back, unsure how they would ever be able to protect all of their people.
Sebastian knew that she was correct in her evaluation of the situation. This battle was going to be lost. It looked as if the Gorin outnumbered them. For each of Sebastian’s warriors, there were six of the demons who were invading their world.
The Gorin were going to kill them all if they did not do something to stop them. There had to be a way. He could not lose Lexi, her sisters and niece, the worlds that they protected,
or any of his men. He could not find such happiness only to lose it within one day.
“Come to me, Lexi!” he called to her loudly. He was glad she did as he commanded without question.
When she stood beside him he pulled her forward and settled her within his arms so that her back was pressed securely against his chest. He dropped his weapon and pulled hers from her hand to throw it to the ground. He took her hands in his and raised them both toward the fighting men.
Gaiya, Callie, and Daria took their places behind them. They cut down every Gorin who came close. They were not going to allow Lexi and Sebastian to be attacked from behind.
“We must join our magic to save our people. Concentrate, Lexi,” he told her, determination and power filling his voice. “Envision pushing at the enemy. We must destroy them together.”
“They can only be killed by decapitation or a direct shot to the eye,” she told him firmly.
“Understood.”
Sebastian did not hesitate in his acceptance of her knowledge. She was a capable warrior. He believed in her. He had no doubt that she knew exactly what must be done.
The ancient prophecy had foretold their coming, their help in increasing the magic on Altavesta, and their part in defeating the Gorin. He just had to think through how they were going to make that happen—together. Defeat could only happen right then if they combined their power and worked together to take that first step in annihilating the Gorin with their magic.
“There are more of the enemy advancing behind the tents,” Lexi called out, needing to give warning.
“I sense them,” Sebastian told her, his voice raised to be heard above the din of the fight. “Torin has, as well.”
Lexi nodded and pressed back more securely into Sebastian’s chest. She could feel the heat of his body and found herself matching her breathing with his. She concentrated on the enemy, seeing them within her mind’s eye and focusing on the head of each demon. She felt the wave of power building within her body as her magic joined with Sebastian’s. It was growing and pulsing as it built to a level that was barely containable, giving her an underlying sense of confidence that did not waver. Together, they could do this.
Alexa's Warrior Mate (Guardian Warrior Mates, Prophecy of Salvation Book 1) Page 24